Timing

I have developed a golf instructional philosophy that helps students of all abilities learn how to quantify perfect timing. This is achieved by carrying a constant hand shape, arm shape and arm tension throughout the entire golf swing with the rotational force of the body. I utilize the same fundamentals in the short game on a smaller and less aggressive scale. This is a holistic approach that enables the student to have a consistent concept and motion with every swing.

The before (left) and after (right) photos below demonstrate the difference between a swing that is out of sequence and one that is timed well. With the hands and arms at the same height coming to finish the picture on the left demonstrates that the body is not moving in a unified manner with the arms and hands. The foot has stopped pivoting while the arms and hands are finishing. After making an adjustment the student demonstrated the ability to rotate the body in time (change in pivot foot) with the arms and hands to finish.

The down the line shot also reflects the change. The picture on the right demonstrates an appropriately timed swing. The pivot foot and leg are working with the upper body to finish.

Characteristics of a perfectly timed swing:

Hands

 Maintain original grip shape and wrist angles>pressure on thumb, trigger finger, back of hand

 Hands move with the center of the body throughout the entire golf motion

Arms

 Upper arms stay attached to body

 Arms do not over extend>soft elbows

 Arm tension and shape remains constant

Shoulders

 Shoulders stay relaxed throughout the motion

 Shoulders hold the face square and direct the shaft/club-head

 Shoulders, hips, and legs work simultaneously.

Power Side

 Face of the club and the power side move from top of swing, down to impact, and up to finish

 Pivot foot moves in time with the club face

Release

Another area I focus is the release of the club from the top of the swing down through impact. Using the V1 application, in the image below on the left Louie Oosthuizen maintains a right angle of his arms and the shaft coming into impact. The shaft maintains its’ straightness. The picture on the right illustrates an early release of the hands and arms. This is demonstrated by the bowing of the shaft. The arms and shaft angle are not maintained at 90 degrees.

I teach golfers how to deliver the club with the power side of their body and hold the arm and shaft angle through impact and up to finish.

Body Rotation and Shaft Angle at Impact

Another key area of focus is the shaft angle and body position at impact. As illustrated in the down the line view with the V1 application, in the image below on top Adam Scott delivers the body and shaft to impact perfectly. His power side is rotated at impact, the dominant shoulder is lower working down and the shaft angle has returned to the original spot. This assures a center face strike and a hit delivered with the power of the entire body’s rotational force. With the bottom image the body and shaft position are quite different. Unlike Adam Scott the student below has not rotated his body yet. The club is being delivered by pulling the arms and hands down resulting in the rise of the body and a much more vertical shaft angle.

All top amateurs and professionals deliver the body and club at the ball simultaneously. My goal for all students is to teach them how to rotate the shaft down as close to its original starting plane as possible. I learned long ago from Mike Hebron that the dominant shoulder works down to impact while the hips rotate around at the same time. This move is essential to striking the ball with full force. Unfortunately a majority of golfers pull the arms down from the top or release the hands at the ball causing the power side to trail the hit. The result is a weak shot with too much loft/spin.

I also cover this concept when teaching PGM students club-fitting. The majority of iron fits are upright to offset the rising shaft angle and thus resulting flat lie. As the move from the top gets better there is less need to compensate with an upright lie angle.